Permissions

Only users with the Admin User Role can delete or redo a VAT Return.

Eligible VAT Returns

Only VAT Returns that meet the following criteria can be redone or deleted.

• Period Management: Be from an open financial period. The VAT journals that were posted for the VAT Return need to be reversed when the VAT Return is redone and this can only happen in an open period. To reopen the period, see Period Management.
• Accounting Method: Use the Invoice-based method.

VAT Return Status

VAT Return status impacts whether it can be redone or deleted as follows:

• In Progress: This is the saved status. Transactions can still be added or removed at this status. The VAT Return can be deleted.
• Returned: This is the final status for Irish VAT returns before being submitted to Revenue. For UK entities, this is the step before submitting digitally to HMRC via MTD. The VAT Return can be redone to revert to the In Progress status.
• Submitted: These are returns that have been sent to HMRC. Submitted returns cannot be deleted or redone. Status must be In Progress (to delete) or Returned (to redo).

See:

▶️ Add new VAT Return (10.4) - AIQ Academy

📗 HMRC Connection Setup (UK) 

📗 Submit Entity VAT Return (UK & Ireland) 

📗 Create & Manage Users 

Impacted Journals

When a return is marked Returned, journals are posted to:

• Sales VAT Control account
• Purchase VAT Control account 
• VAT Control account

Redoing a VAT Return reverses them.

To view the journals created from a returned VAT Return and subsequent reversed journals, go to General Ledger > GL Explorer.

Redoing the VAT Return

1. Go to General Ledger > Actions > VAT Return Listing.
   
2. Click Redo against the relevant VAT Return. 
3. In the pop-up, confirm that you want to redo the Return by clicking OK. This will reverse the already posted journals and set the status of the Return to In Progress. In the VAT Return Listing, the VAT Return with its original linked transactions can now be edited again. Any transactions posted since the original Return was returned will now show in the open return and be available for selection.
4.  Add further transactions and return the VAT Return, following the instructions in Submit Entity VAT Return (UK & Ireland).

You can delete In Progress VAT Returns. Deleting removes the Return entirely and permanently.

1. Go to General Ledger > Actions > VAT Return Listing.
   
2. If the VAT Return has a status of In Progress rather than Returned, you can click Delete.
3. In the pop-up, confirm your deletion by clicking OK. This unlinks all transactions associated with that return so they can be included in a new return.

Submitted VAT Returns

It is not possible to redo or delete a Return that was successfully submitted to HMRC via the Making Tax Digital (MTD) link, and for which AIQ captured an HMRC VAT Return reference number.

🔗 How to correct VAT errors and make adjustments or claims (VAT Notice 700/45) - GOV.UK

Returned but not Submitted VAT Returns

When you submit a VAT Return to HMRC in the system, you will receive a confirmation message with a reference number and the VAT Return status will update to Submitted. 

If the submission fails, you will receive an error message, the status will remain Returned and no reference number will be recorded. This could happen due to an invalid connection link or failure of the MTD API. In this situation, re-configure the connection to HMRC. See HMRC Connection Setup (UK) for more details.

 Then either:

• Submit: Re-submit the VAT Return if the contents are correct.
• Redo: Redo the VAT Return as described in Redoing a Returned VAT Return. Then return and submit it.
• Delete: Redo the VAT Return as described in Redoing a Returned VAT Return. This will update the VAT Return's status to In Progress and allow you to Delete it. Create a new VAT Return. See Submit Entity VAT Return (UK & Ireland) for more information.